Improvement in transposing key-boards



i A. J. STAFFORD. Transposng Key-Board.

No. 217,422. Patented July 8,1879.

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ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ASA J. STAFFORD, OF BRUSHTON, NET YORK.

lMPROVEMENT IN TRANSPOSING KEY-BOARDS.

Spccilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 217,422, dated July S, 1879; application iiled May 21, 1879.

To all 107mm 1115 may concern:

Be it known that l, ASA J. STAFFORD, ot' Brushton, in the county of Franklin and State ol' New York, have invented a new and Improved Adjustable Fin ger-Board, ot' which the following is a specification.

Figure l is a front elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation on line fr az, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation on line y y, Fig. l.

Similar letters ot reference indicate corresponding parts.

The object ot' this invention is to provide a transposing key-board for pianos and organs, whereby the music can or may all be written and played in the key of G natural, and yet will sound in any one of the twelve keys to which the ringer-board has been adjusted.

The front ends ot' the keys A A are guided and kept in proper relation to each other by pegs G, attached to the sliding' table B, and the hack ends are secured to the sliding rod C. Both table and rod slide in grooves, as shown, and both are moved synchronously by thel same mechanism, which consists ot' the handle l) and rod E, operating to move the bent arms or levers F F.

The keys are raised ori' the pegs G G by the direct contact of the narrow board H, the widest parts of which extend through the table B, and rest upon the rollers l I', that revolve on pins a a, projecting from arms K K', which are fastened on shafts L L', that project through the front of the structure. 0n the projecting' ends of these shafts are secured the levers l), b', and b and their connecting-rods d, d', and d, all operated simultaneously by the crank-handle j".

rShe connecting-rods d and. d are attached to the hinged cover or plate M, and elevate it from the keys as the keys are elevated by the strip Hf. As the crankj'/ is pressed down to raise the strip H and the plate M, it engages with the pin N and draws it down, so that it is disengaged from a hole in the plate O, which is secured to the sliding table B, so that the keys may be moved to the right or left by op eratin g the handle D and its direct connections. ln some cases the sliding rod C is made to slide between rollers placed above and be low ite vWhile in organs my finger-board is to be used in place ot' the linger-board now in use, with pegs or tracker-pins leading to the reedvalves, in pianos the linger-board is to be used over the kind now in use, with pegs playing the lower keys, which are provided with holes bored part way through them, through their front ends, for the pegs to rest in, and the grooved timbers are to be fastened to the frame or table on which the lower keys are set by means oi' boards at the ends ot' this double key board.

The key P represents a piano-key, set, as usual, on a pin, g, that projects upward from the piece Q, or, preferably, from three main longitudinal pieces, (shown in dotted lines on Q,) and contact between the two sets of keys is established by means of simple pegs, as above stated, or by pegs carrying friction wheels lt, upon which the keys of my linger1A board may rest. The hammer S (shown in the drawings, Fig. 3) is thrown up aga-inst the wires by the action of the key P.

In order to change the musical key, the up per set of keys, A, are moved to the right or left, as thc case may be, to the required post tion, which is ascertained by observing mid dle C as it passes the letters C D E F G A B, &c., (shown on the cover M.) Then mid` dle C is opposite one of these letters, the in# strument is in the key represented by the let ter. rllhen, when the required position of the keys has been reached, both crank-handles are released, and the weight of the keys, falling on the narrow board H, causes the shafts L L to turn and force the pin N into a hole in the plate O and hold the sliding table in place. The instrument is then ready to play on. The musical key can thus be changed, even during the delivery of almost any piece oi' music.

In organs, the grooved pieces in which the table B and rod C slide can be fastened at the ends to the inside ot' the case. The pegs G operate the same as in organs, and the holes in the board T, through which they pass, are slightly elongated in a direction parallel with the keys to alford sufficient freedom of move nient to the pegs. In organs these pegsopei1^ ate the reed-valves. In pianos they are sunk into the lower keys, that operate the hammers.

The upper keys are fastened in the same manner as in organs, and the lower ones are fastened as in common pianos. Cloth, padding, &e., is used about the pegs and pins and other parts ofthe device, as is deemed advisable, for the purpose of decreasing friction and noise.

I do not coniine myself to the precise loca-` tion, as herein shown, of the levers, arms, 85e., attached to the front of the device, for it is obvious that the objects for which they are intended can be secured by locating them, or

f some of them, on the ends or other parts of 3. The combina-tion of the set of keys A, sliding table B, and sliding rod C with the handle D, rod E, and levers F, substantially as herein shown and described.

4. The combination of the set of keys A, strip H, and cover M with levers b b' b", connecting-rods d d' d",'and crank-handlef, substai'itially as herein shown and described.

5. The combination of the sliding` table B with the perforated plate O and pin N, substantially as herein shown and described.

6. The combination of the set of keys A, sliding table B, sliding rod C, hinged and lettered cover M, strip H, rollers I I', arms K K', shafts L L', pegs G, pins g', and cross-bar Q with key'P, substantially as herein shown and described.

7. The hinged plate or cover M, set over the set of keys A, and provided with the letters C D E F G, 85e., substantially as and for the purpose described.

ASA JOHN STAFFORD.

Witnesses GEORGE H. HUDSON, PnEsroN WILcoX. 

